In an astonishing victory for Blizzard, Peons4Hire received a permanent injunction against their activities in World of Warcraft this week. The company is now barred from advertising within the game, as it should have been long ago.

This legal decision is still just an injunction. It won't have the hold that a full decision would have had, as I understand it. However, it's a great landmark for future spammers to see. As of the time of this column's posting, the Peons4Hire site is down. I pray they don't try to move on to any other MMOs.

This weekend will be a fun one for anyone who loves their own special hero or villain. Starting tomorrow, players of City of Heroes/Villains will receive doubled experience, prestige, influence and infamy. All those fancy numbers will be sky high until this Sunday, the tenth.

If you haven't picked up this game, get the trial. For a short amount of time, prospectives can enjoy the extensive customization system in the game. I didn't get much farther than that set of menus in my romp through the game, but hopefully some readers will enjoy the fast leveling this weekend.

The Stargate Worlds team is generating more buzz with the new video contest held at the community site. Entitled "Comedy Line Countdown," participants download video templates here and add their own funny lines before loading them onto the Stargate Worlds YouTube page.

The contest ends on February 29th. Ten winners will be picked to have their videos played on a future video podcast and receive new t-shirts.

In an interview with GameSpot, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said that the company has no intentions of getting in on the MMO market. In line with the marketing strategies for the Wii and DS, he states that MMOs aren't playable by anyone and everyone.

Since Nintendo wants your grandma to play, the fact that she's computer illiterate means you won't be playing FFXI on your Wii anytime soon. I guess we'll all have to settle for Animal Crossing until Nintendo changes their minds or granny learns to MMO.

Many of us have heard the sob stories of those that have lost their characters, loot, and accounts. We avoid keyloggers, trojans, viruses, and any other baddie from hacking in through innumerable ways to protect our virtual valuables. If you ended up missing any of the above, what would you do?

Minnesotan Geoff Luurs, Final Fantasy XI enthusiast, woke up one morning missing his gil and gear accrued from four years of gameplay. Upon contacting the police, he was told that they couldn't help him and to contact them if anything real were stolen.

Luurs confessed that he had willingly given his password and username to a friend who he suspected of stealing his loot. He stands a living example of the amount of protection virtual possessions need, as even Minnesotan cops can't save the day when they're stolen.

This week's Media Grotto features the new Lord of the Rings Online commercial. It features the preparations of everyday residents of Middle-Earth as they prepare for a day of adventuring.

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My utter newbie skills in Halo 3 need some improvement, so I'm off to get back to the grind. If anyone wants to shoot a letter my way, let me know. I'd be eager to hear what readers have to say about the new LOTRO promo and Nintendo's hate for MMOs.